POWER distribution company 24seven estimates it spent £5 million repairing the network damaged in the storms of October 27.But that's just a pinprick for the company owned by the LE Group, which is in turn owned by the French government's Electricite de France.

POWER distribution company 24seven estimates it spent £5 million repairing the network damaged in the storms of October 27.

But that's just a pinprick for the company owned by the LE Group, which is in turn owned by the French government's Electricite de France.

The LE Group reported profits of £98 million on a turnover of £1.9 billion last year.

A spokeswoman for 24seven said the £5 million figure did not include the £100 "special compensation" figure that would be paid to about 30,000 electricity customers who were powerless for more than four days.

Although the company had extended the time it was prepared to accept claims for consideration to three months, there was no guarantee it would pay them.

"We cannot say how many of these we will pay," said the spokeswoman.

The company's own inquiry into the handling of the disaster was carrying on and would be completed within the next few weeks.

"We have spoken to many people and organisations as part of the inquiry and the summary of it should be published in early January," said the spokeswoman.

As part of the company's efforts to explain what was happening after the storm, it took out a number of newspaper advertisements.

"We spent a total of £23,000 on press advertising across the region to explain the position to customers after the storm," the spokeswoman added.

As well as the company's own inquiry, the government has asked Colchester-based consultants BPI to carry out an independent inquest into the way electricity companies handled the crisis.

That report is expected to be published early next year.